This paper first provides a brief survey of a possibilistic handling of default rules. A set of default rules of the form, "generally, from α deduce β", is viewed as the family of possibility distributions satisfying constraints expressing that the situation where α and β is true has a greater plausibility than the one where α and ⇁β is true. When considering only the subset of linear possibility distributions, the well-known System P of postulates proposed by Kraus, Lehmann and Magidor, (...) has been obtained. We also present two rational extensions: one based on the minimum specificity principle and the other is based on the lexicographic ordering. The second part of the paper presents an empirical study of three desirable properties for a consequence relation that capture default reasoning: Rationality, Property Inheritance and Ambiguity Preservation. An experiment is conducted to investigate 13 patterns of inference for the test of these properties. Our experimental apparatus confirms previous results on the relevance of System P, and enforces the psychological relevance of the studied properties. (shrink)

The text analyses rituals as endeavours to preserve the identity of a people or a portion of a people. Rituals present or re-present the supposed common history of all the migrants. Social memory and history then tend to merge and to forget... forgetfulness is the driving force behind the writing of history. Particularly critical is the moment when the migration starts, because the need to adapt to new conditions as well as to maintain what is represented as their social identity (...) makes dual – and at times contradictory – demands on the migrants’ imagination. Examples taken from Portuguese migrations are offered as expressions of the conceptual issues raised. (shrink)

Este relato apresenta brevemente a experiência de uma atividade realizada com alunos de ensino médio, no Subprojeto de Filosofia do PIBID UFFS Campus Chapecó, na qual foram abordados os conceitos de Eros e Philia em Platão e Aristóteles. A atividade foi pensada juntamente com o coordenador e o supervisor do subprojeto e aplicada aos alunos do 2º ano do Ensino Médio noturno da Escola Coronel Lara Ribas, onde são desenvolvidas as atividades do Subprojeto de Filosofia da UFFS, sendo realizada durante (...) o segundo semestre de 2012. A atividade envolveu todas as etapas fundamentais de uma atividade de docência, a saber: escolha do tema, planejamento, pesquisa dos conteúdos, definição da metodologia, aplicação na sala de aula e avaliação. A temática utilizada nas aulas, envolvendo os conceitos de Eros e Philia, foi fundamentada nas obras de Platão e Aristóteles, que foram lidos e debatidos pelos alunos em sala de aula. O objetivo central da atividade foi possibilitar compreensão desses dois conceitos, Eros e Philia, no pensamento de Platão e Aristóteles, por parte dos alunos do ensino médio. Metodologicamente, foram desenvolvidas várias atividades, como a leitura dos textos clássicos, apresentação de material audiovisual, análise de letras de música e debates. Esta prática contribuiu para a formação docente do bolsista, exigindo uma compreensão maior dos textos clássicos, domínio dos conteúdos, planejamento e reflexão sobre metodologias para o desenvolvimento dos temas. Esta experiência contribuiu ainda para que o acadêmico percebesse a sala de aula como um espaço de atuação/formação inicial e permanente, no qual é necessário sempre refletir sobre a qualidade do ensino, bem como a promoção da articulação entre a teoria e a prática dos saberes acadêmicos que promovem uma formação integral do aluno de licenciatura. (shrink)

Procura-se retraçar o percurso da filosofia de Jocelyn Benoist, partindo de seu primeiro projeto de um realismo fenomenológico em direção à elaboração de um realismo não-fenomenológico. Mostra-se o papel do tema dos limites da intencionalidade e por que este é abandonado. Mostra-se também de que modo a diferença gramatical entre o normativo e o real permite diagnosticar na fenomenologia uma confusão de categorias atingindo a noção de aparecer. Por fim, evidencia-se como essa diferença incide sobre o problema da percepção e (...) leva o autor a defender certa autonomia ontológica do sensível. (shrink)

Procura-se mostrar como aquilo a que chamam a “teoria da leitura” merleau-pontiana, calcada na meditação do impensado de outros filósofos, surge apenas no interior de seu projeto ontológico e, mais precisamente, no âmbito das conseqüências que ele traz para a compreensão da idealidade. É assim que a “história da filosofia” só ganha sentido na filosofia de Merleau-Ponty uma vez assumidas decisões filosóficas prévias como a de, para inscrever a significação no domínio do sensível, sublinhar as dimensões passivas da experiência anteriores (...) e fundantes face aos atos expressos da consciência. Tal débito da “teoria da leitura” à problemática estritamente merleaupontiana da significação assinala, por sua vez, certos limites para o reaproveitamento aparentemente neutro desse modo de leitura em outras paragens filosóficas. (shrink)

In Brazil, the CNPq provides grants, funds and fellowships to productive scientists to support their investigations. They are ranked and categorized into four hierarchical levels ranging from PQ 1A to PQ 1D. Few studies, however, report and analyse scientific productivity in different sub-fields of Biomedical Sciences, e.g., Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Biophysics and Physiology. In fact, systematic comparisons of productivity among the PQ 1 categories within the above sub-fields are lacking in the literature. Here, the scientific productivity of 323 investigators receiving PQ (...) 1 fellowships in these sub-fields of BS was investigated. The Scopus database was used to compile the total number of articles, citations, h-index values and authorship positions in the most cited papers by researchers granted CNPq fellowships. We found that researchers from Pharmacology had the best performance for all of the parameters analysed, followed by those in Biochemistry. There was great variability in scientific productivity within the PQ 1A level in all of the sub-fields of BS, but not within the other levels. Analysis of the most cited papers of PQ 1 researchers in Pharmacology revealed that the citations of researchers in the 1C and 1D levels were associated with publications with their senior supervisors, whereas those in the 1B level were less connected with their supervisors in comparison to those in 1A. Taken together, these findings suggest that the scientific performance of PQ 1A researchers in BS is not homogenous. In our opinion, parameters such as the most cited papers without the involvement of Ph.D. and/or post-doctoral supervisors should be used to make decisions regarding any given researcher’s fellowship award level. (shrink)

To maximize brain plasticity after stroke, several rehabilitation strategies have been explored, including the use of intensive motor training, motor imagery, and action observation. Growing evidence of the positive impact of virtual reality (VR) techniques on recovery following stroke has been shown. However, most VR tools are designed to exploit active movement, and hence patients with low level of motor control cannot fully benefit from them. Consequently, the idea of directly training the central nervous system has been promoted by utilizing (...) motor-imagery (MI) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). To date, detailed information on which VR strategies lead to successful functional recovery is still largely missing, and very little is known about how to optimally integrate BCI and VR paradigms for stroke rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a BCI-VR system using a MI paradigm for post-stroke upper limb rehabilitation on functional assessments, and related changes in MI ability and brain imaging. To achieve this, a 60 years old male chronic stroke patient was recruited. The patient underwent a 3-week intervention in a clinical environment, resulting in 10 BCI-VR training sessions. The patient was assessed before and after intervention, as well as on a one-month follow-up, in terms of clinical scales and brain imaging using functional MRI (fMRI). Consistent with prior research, we found important improvements in upper extremity scores (Fugl-Meyer) and identified increases in brain activation measured by fMRI that suggest neuroplastic changes in brain motor networks. This study expands on the current body of evidence as more data are needed on the effect of this type of interventions not only on functional improvement but also through brain imaging to study the effect of the intervention on plasticity. (shrink)

Universidade e educação em uma visão antroplógica, à luz da grande tradição da filosofia ocidental: Platão, Aristóteles, Agostinho e, sobretudo, Tomás de Aquino.

This article tests human inference rationality when dealing with default rules. To study human rationality, psychologists currently use classical models of logic or probability theory as normative models for evaluating human ability to reason rationally. Our position is that this approach is convincing, but only manages to capture a specific case of inferential ability with little regard to conditions of everyday reasoning. We propose that the most general case to be considered is inference with imperfect knowledge - in the present (...) case restricted to uncertain knowledge - and that a natural framework for testing the rationality of plausible reasoning is System P. This system provides rational postulates for nonmonotonic inference. The semantic of the nonmonotonic inference is given by a possibilistic constraint introduced by Dubois and Prade (1991). This constraint states that a rule p ( q is a plausible rule if "the degree to which p ( q is possible" is greater than "the degree to which p ( (q is possible". Given the choice of this constraint, we study two supplementary postulates of rationality. Eighty-eight subjects participated in an experiment whose results confirm - provided that reflexivity and left logical equivalence would be tested in a further experiment - the rationality of human nonmonotonic inference according to the rational postulates of System P. (shrink)

Ludwig Boltzmann is one of the foremost responsible for the development of modern atomism in thermodynamics. His proposition was revolutionary not only because it brought a new vision for Thermodynamics, merging a statistical approach with Newtonian physics, but also because he produced an entirely new perspective on the way of thinking about and describing physical phenomena. Boltzmann dared to flirt with constructivism and realism simultaneously, by hypothesizing the reality of atoms and claiming an inherent probabilistic nature related to many particles (...) systems. Boltzmann faced criticism from the positivists, who rejected the hypothesis of the atom as a matter of principle, and also from physicists, who rejected the idea of a classical bounded system that does not follow deterministic mechanical laws. We consider that Boltzmann thermodynamics has emerged as a systemic theory that deals with macroscopic bodies using collective variables; it was reformulated to a kinetic theory of gases, and subsequently to statistical mechanics. From the theoretical physical point of view, Boltzmann advocates an approach to thermodynamics based on mechanics and was one of the founders of statistical mechanics, together with ideas by Maxwell, Clausius and Gibbs. Subsequently, statistical mechanics has also influenced the development of quantum mechanics and information theory. Using an evolutionary epistemological perspective as a metaphor to describe the physical entities claimed in Boltzmann propositions, we interpret his work as a selected theory that gained attributes of reality and “survived” during a scientific-contextual competition to be more adapted, in the sense that it was able to better explain physical phenomena, and also generated “descendants”. (shrink)

A gênese histórica da paróquia e seu desenvolvimento estrutural em relação à história da Igreja é a problemática central à qual este texto está subordinado. Por esta razão, o texto parte da etimologia do termo paróquia à compreensão de suas origens e matrizes dentro da concepção do cristianismo nascente e em suas raízes bíblicas, sem a pretensão de apresentar críticas e reformulações da estrutura paroquial. O respectivo trabalho toma como alicerce os decorrentes períodos e fatos históricos da Igreja para caracterizar (...) e contextualizar o desenvolvimento da paróquia que, desde os primórdios, está subordinada a estruturas de autoridades eclesiais. O seguinte texto vale-se de documentos importantes que contextualizam a visão, função e organização da paróquia como parte fundamentalmente integrante do corpo eclesial, bem como conceituam juridicamente esta comunidade de fé, célula da Igreja Particular. Após um apanhado geral da genealogia eclesiástica, com o desenvolvimento paroquial no seu interior, o presente trabalho atem-se a contextualizar a visão que a paróquia assumiu dentro da eclesiologia do XXI Concílio Ecumênico da Igreja Católica, o Concílio Vaticano II e do Código do Direito Canônico de 1983 em comparação com o Código Pio-beneditino. Com isso, o presente texto intui proporcionar fundamentos a futuros estudos e questionar a efemeridade. (shrink)

The purpose of the following text is to analyze the development of the understanding of God in the theological-biblical imaginery, as well as the formulations that allow us to understand the development of Transcendent identity in history and in the construction of the talk and about God. Starting from a brief synopsis of the biblical Old Testament design of elements present in the theological imagination of the identity of the God of Israel, from liberating perception present in the image of (...) God Revelation from Jesus Christ phenomenon, passing briefly to the understanding of God as Trinity and culminating with the perception of identity of God within the current context of liberation, it points out the development of the identity of a God who – far from remain static, immobile, inert – assumes an itinerant identity alongside your people. Thus, the present paper analyses aspects of revelation and maps an identity of God from these elements, pointing to the construction of the identity design of a God who, by walking along the humanity, is not free to be assimilated and perceived in different forms in the course of this Revelation route. (shrink)

Therapeutic strategies capable of inducing and enhancing prosthesis embodiment are a key point for better adaptation to and acceptance of prosthetic limbs. In this study, we developed a training protocol using an EMG-based human-machine interface that was applied in the preprosthetic rehabilitation phase of people with amputation. This is a case series with the objective of evaluating the induction and enhancement of the embodiment of a virtual prosthesis. Six men and a woman with unilateral transfemoral traumatic amputation without previous use (...) of prostheses participated in the study. Participants performed a training protocol with the EMG-based HMI, composed of six sessions held twice a week, each lasting 30 mins. This system consisted of myoelectric control of the movements of a virtual prosthesis immersed in a 3D virtual environment. Additionally, vibrotactile stimuli were provided on the participant’s back corresponding to the movements performed. Embodiment was investigated from the following set of measurements: skin conductance response, crossmodal congruency effect, ability to control the virtual prosthesis, and reports before and after the training. The increase in the skin conductance response in conditions where the virtual prosthesis was threatened, recalibration of the peripersonal space perception identified by the crossmodal congruency effect, ability to control the virtual prosthesis, and participant reports consistently showed the induction and enhancement of virtual prosthesis embodiment. Therefore, this protocol using EMG-based HMI was shown to be a viable option to achieve and enhance the embodiment of a virtual prosthetic limb. (shrink)

Com base no entendimento de que as experiências nos cursos de graduação em psicologia constituem uma influência relevante na formação das representações dos alunos, que por sua vez guiarão seus comportamentos futuros, o presente estudo centrou- se nas percepções de futuros profissionais de psicologi..

In Brazil, the CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) provides grants, funds and fellowships to productive scientists to support their investigations. They are ranked and categorized into four hierarchical levels ranging from PQ 1A (the highest) to PQ 1D (the lowest). Few studies, however, report and analyse scientific productivity in different sub-fields of Biomedical Sciences (BS), e.g., Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Biophysics and Physiology. In fact, systematic comparisons of productivity among the PQ 1 categories within the above sub-fields are lacking (...) in the literature. Here, the scientific productivity of 323 investigators receiving PQ 1 fellowships (A to D levels) in these sub-fields of BS was investigated. The Scopus database was used to compile the total number of articles, citations, h-index values and authorship positions (first-, co- or last-listed author) in the most cited papers by researchers granted CNPq fellowships. We found that researchers from Pharmacology had the best performance for all of the parameters analysed, followed by those in Biochemistry. There was great variability in scientific productivity within the PQ 1A level in all of the sub-fields of BS, but not within the other levels (1B, 1C and 1D). Analysis of the most cited papers of PQ 1(A–D) researchers in Pharmacology revealed that the citations of researchers in the 1C and 1D levels were associated with publications with their senior supervisors, whereas those in the 1B level were less connected with their supervisors in comparison to those in 1A. Taken together, these findings suggest that the scientific performance of PQ 1A researchers in BS is not homogenous. In our opinion, parameters such as the most cited papers without the involvement of Ph.D. and/or post-doctoral supervisors should be used to make decisions regarding any given researcher’s fellowship award level. (shrink)

O presente texto constitui-se como resenha do livro Foucault: pensador transversátil, de Laerthe de Moraes Abreu Junior. A obra reúne ensaios sobre diversos temas e conceitos presentes no pensamento foucaultiano, desde os mais conhecidos, como humanismo, ética, violência, sujeição e poder, até aqueles sobre os quais os estudiosos costumam se debruçar com menor frequência, caso dos escritos do filósofo francês sobre as artes plásticas, o cinema, a literatura e a música. O tratamento dado a esses temas revela como por (...) trás de sua pulverização e da aparente desconexão entre eles há uma obra caracterizada pela versatilidade e transversalidade de um pensador dedicado a compreender como o homem se tornou aquilo que é. (shrink)

In the course of the history of science, some concepts have forged theoretical foundations, constituting paradigms that hold sway for substantial periods of time. Research on the history of explanations of the action of one body on another is a testament to the periodic revival of one theory in particular, namely, the theory of ether. Even after the foundation of modern Physics, the notion of ether has directly and indirectly withstood the test of time. Through a spontaneous physics philosophical analysis, (...) this article will explore how certain aspects of the concept of ether have appeared in different branches of the history of science. (shrink)

The present work aims at studying the myth of Gyges’ ring from Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s work The Reveries of a solitary Walker. Gyges’ ring is a magic artefact, allowing its bearer to be visible or invisible according to his will. The ring’s myth is portraited for the first time in the Second Book of Plato’s Republic. Thusly, our article is divided in two parts: the first one presents an analysis of the Republic observing its challenge of justice and the relation (...) it holds with the art of ruling; the second part presents an investigation of Rousseau’s work to show how he had absorbed the ring’s myth. The main objective of our work is the comparison between Plato’s and Rousseau’s view of Gyges’ ring, and the investigation of the concept of nature as one of the pillars of the social contract theory. As results we present the way Rousseau answers to the challenge of justice from the concept of justice within the soul, whereas no harm could be done to others. In his reflexion on the ring, Rousseau seems to point at the existence of an interior justice according to its “natural inclination”, opposite to any obligation of the positive law among men. Therefore, one needs to observe that Rousseau is defending justice according to the natural rights holding that any contract established among men should be according to nature. This agrees with our thesis of a possible political ontology based on firstly, the concept of a universal justice, and secondly, on the art of ruling according to justice. (shrink)

O presente artigo tem como objetivo reconstruir argumentos centrais desenvolvidos por Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Contra Samuel Pufendorf, Rousseau defende que a justiça não é natural. Ele recusa todo compromisso com a lei natural tradicional para voltar à posição de Thomas Hobbes. Ora, no estado originário de natureza, os princípios racionais da lei natural que expõe Pufendorf não podem ser conhecidos, e, por conseguinte, quando puderem ser conhecidos, não serão aplicados por natureza.

O revezamento de protagonismo de um dos Três Poderes, em determinado momento histórico, é sazonal; acarretando o aperfeiçoamento de mecanismos que recomponham o equilíbrio (freios e contrapesos - checks and balances). Ocorre que a crise dos Poderes Estatais dificilmente é diagnosticada pelas próprias instituições, que se escoram no discurso de “estabilidade institucional” para evitar mudanças. A simples positivação de direitos e garantias fundamentais, também chamada por Marcelo Neves de “legislação simbólica” ou “legislação álibi”; somada à adoção de ritos meramente (...) formais nos processos pelos Três Poderes, sem que se atenha aperspectiva substancial ou à efetividade dos princípios constitucionais - identificada como “procedimentalismo” por Lênio Streck e Écio Oto Ramos Duarte - acaba por acarretar verdadeira letargia institucional. (shrink)

São muitas as abordagens do fenômeno religioso surgidas nos últimos dois séculos. Algumas recorrem aos métodos elaborados pelas ciências humanas, sobretudo a historiografia, a sociologia, a etnologia/antropologia, a psicologia e a fenomenologia. Outras tratam a religião numa perspectiva filosófica, como se pode ver nos grandes autores que, sobretudo a partir do século XIX, se consagraram à elaboração de uma filosofia da religião. Nas últimas décadas, com a renovação da filosofia hermenêutica, novas leituras da religião têm surgido, renovando profundamente esse campo (...) do saber. O texto aqui proposto apresenta alguns elementos da grande síntese do filósofo luxemburguês Jean Greisch, pouco conhecido no Brasil, mas cuja contribuição ao estudo da religião é original, privilegiando uma hermenêutica da passagem. Após uma breve apresentação de sua obra consagrada à filosofia da religião, serão apresentados os cinco “paradigmas” dos estudos da religião segundo ele: o especulativo, o crítico, o fenomenológico, o analítico e o hermenêutico, o último seguido pelo próprio autor. (shrink)

Maître Eckhart (1260-1328), théologien et philosophe allemand des XIIIe-XIVe siècles, fut à son époque un maître universitaire illustre, un penseur réputé pour son extrême érudition en théologie et en philosophie. Mais il fut aussi un véritable « maître de vie », un prédicateur en langue vulgaire qui employait sa langue maternelle, le moyen haut-allemand, de manière créative. Ses écrits allemands, notamment ses sermons pastoraux, contiennent de nombreuses expressions imagées, sensibles et poétiques. Les sermons en allemand s'adressaient aux gens ordinaires, au (...) peuple des fidèles, aux moines, moniales ou béguines. Sous l'érudition académique de l'illustre théologien dominicain, se profile la figure d'un véritable poète théologien, qui a consacré sa vie et sa mission pastorale à célébrer la Parole poétique vivante, en particulier dans le mystérieux et envoûtant poème mystique du « grain de sénevé ». (shrink)

Jean Greisch3 (1942-), ainda pouco conhecido no Brasil, é um filósofo e professor luxemburguês. Realizou seus estudos em filosofia e teologia em seu próprio país, completando-os com um doutorado em filosofia, no Instituto Católico de Paris, onde defendeu sua tese sobre Martin Heidegger. Suas principais pesquisas estão relacionadas com as problemáticas contemporâneas da ontologia, da hermenêutica e da religião. Em A idade hermenêutica da razão, instigado em como a hermenêutica se inseriu no coração da filosofia ao ponto de hoje (...) tratarmos como corrente filosófica o que, antes, era uma disciplina auxiliar, Greisch analisa três sentidos possíveis da expressão razão hermenêutica: (i) o sentido descritivo, onde é realizada uma investigação histórica; (ii) o sentido crítico, onde se analisa os debates que envolve tal expressão; (iii) o sentido heurístico, onde ele questiona o quanto esta expressão implica ou não em uma ideia própria de razão. (shrink)

According to standard assumptions in semantics, ordinary users of a language have implicit beliefs about the truth-conditions of sentences in that language, and they often agree on those beliefs. For example, it is assumed that if Anna and John are both competent users of English and the former utters ‘grass is green’ in conversation with the latter, they will both believe that that sentence is true if and only if grass is green. These assumptions play an important role in an (...) intuitively compelling picture of communication, according to which successful communication through literal assertoric utterances is normally effected thanks to our shared beliefs about the truth-conditions of the sentences uttered in the course of the conversation. Against these standard assumptions, this paper argues that the participants in a conversation rarely have the same beliefs about the truth-conditions of the sentences involved in a linguistic interaction. More precisely, it argues for Variance, the thesis that nearly every utterance is such that there is no proposition which more than one language user believes to be that utterance’s truth-conditional content. If Variance is true, we must reject the standard picture of communication. Towards the end of the paper I identify three ways in which ordinary conversations can be communication-like despite the truth of Variance and argue that the most natural amendments to the standard picture fail to explain them. (shrink)

The susceptibility of Habermas' socio-political theory (and notion of constitutional patriotism) to the charge of motivational impotence can be traced to a problem in the way in which he conceives of discursive practical reason. By implicitly constructing the notion of discursive rationality in contrast to, and in abstraction from, the rhetorical and affective components of language use, Habermas' notion of discursive practical reason ends up reiterating the same binaries — between reason and passion, abstract and concrete, universal and particular — (...) that provide the tacit parameters used by his critics to motivate the charge of impotence. Habermas' project of reconciling social integration and political rule with freedom can succeed only by rebuilding his discourse-ethical theory of politics upon a notion of discursive practical reason that overcomes these philosophy/rhetoric binaries common to both camps. (shrink)

Indirect speech reports can be true even if they attribute to the speaker the saying of something weaker than what she in fact expressed, yet not all weakenings of what the speaker expressed yield true reports. For example, if Anna utters ‘Bob and Carla passed the exam’, we can accurately report her as having said that Carla passed the exam, but we can not accurately report her as having said that either it rains or it does not, or that either (...) Carla passed the exam or pandas are cute. This paper offers an analysis of speech reports that distinguishes weakenings of what the speaker expressed that yield true reports from weakenings that do not. According to this analysis, speech reports are not only sensitive to the informational content of what the speaker expressed, but also to the possibilities a speaker raises in making an utterance. As I argue, this analysis has significant advantages over its most promising competitors, including views based on work by Barwise and Perry : 668–691, 1981), views appealing to recent work on the notion of content parthood by Fine :199–226, 2016) and Yablo, and Richard’s : 605–616, 1998) proposal appealing to structured propositions. (shrink)

The theme of consent is, without question, associated with the origins of bioethics and is one of its most significant paradigms that has remained controversial to the present, as is confirmed by the proposal for its debate during the last World Congress of Bioethics. Seen broadly as a compulsory minimum procedure in the field of biomedical ethics, even today it keeps open the issues that it has raised from the start: whether it is really necessary and whether it can be (...) proven to be effective. My goal will be to attempt to determine the most genuine and relevant meaning of consent, going back from its present dominant normative meaning and, from there, identifying or simply sketching other possible forms of its expression in the world we live in, so as to justify its pertinence and validity. This objective will involve three stages: (1) ‘Consent’ as a privileged paradigm of bioethics (the ethical-juridical sense), (2) The symbolic value of ‘consent’ (the social-cultural sense), and (3) ‘Consent’ as promotion of the human (the humanistic-personal sense) .It is concluded that the common notion of normative consent is not the only one, nor does it hold universal validity; that, from a historical-cultural perspective, new expressions of consent appear, adapted to different social contexts and to possibly be implemented in developing countries; and, finally, that consent is strictly indispensable in situations of extreme dependence, in its symbolic relational character, in as much as it promotes ethical relationships among strangers and ensures that they remain so. (shrink)

The propositional view of communication states that every literal assertoric utterance of an indicative sentence expresses a proposition, and the audience understands those utterances only if she entertains the proposition(s) the speaker expressed. According to an important objection due to Ray Buchanan, the propositional view is ill‐equipped to handle meaning underdeterminacy. Using resources from situation semantics and MacFarlane's nonindexical contextualism, this article develops a view of literal communication close to the propositional view which overcomes Buchanan's underdeterminacy considerations while accounting for (...) the kind of indifference that typically characterizes speakers' intentions. (shrink)

This Dictionary presents a broad range of topics relevant in present-day global bioethics. With more than 500 entries, this dictionary covers organizations working in the field of global bioethics, international documents concerning bioethics, personalities that have played a role in the development of global bioethics, as well as specific topics in the field.The book is not only useful for students and professionals in global health activities, but can also serve as a basic tool that explains relevant ethical notions and terms. (...) The dictionary furthers the ideals of cosmopolitanism: solidarity, equality, respect for difference and concern with what human beings- and specifically patients - have in common, regardless of their backgrounds, hometowns, religions, gender, etc. Global problems such as pandemic diseases, disasters, lack of care and medication, homelessness and displacement call for global responses.This book demonstrates that a moral vision of global health is necessary and it helps to quickly understand the basic ideas of global bioethics. (shrink)

Objectivo principal do presente artigo é mostrar até que ponto o evolucionismo darwinista inclui proposições centrais testáveis, para além de várias proposições acessórias também elas testáveis. Nesse sentido, o autor constrói um argumento no sentido de mostrar que as alegações de Karl Popper, segundo as quais não pode ser concedido estatuto de cientificidade ao darwinismo, carecem de fundamento. O autor defende também a necessidade de um questionamento firme em relação a todo e qualquer argumento fornecido pela ciência, pois nem a (...) capacidade de previsão nem a universalidade das leis são garantia de que a ciência, também ela, nunca caia em erro. /// Aim of the present article is to show that the doctrine of evolution defended by Charles Darwin is grounded on propositions that are verifiable, as are verifiable many of its secondary propositions. The author builds up an argument that goes in the direction of showing how the allegations by Karl Popper against the scientific nature of Darwinism are not grounded in reality. The author of the article also defends the necessity of a firm questioning in relation to each and every argument advanced by the practitioners of science, since nor its anticipatory capacity nor the universality of its laws are warrant enough that the science never falls into error. (shrink)

This article analyzes the issue of organizational transparency through the lens of Thomas Aquinas’ ethics. It provides moral justification for current claims about corporate transparency and sheds light on the ethical values and virtues affecting information disclosure decisions. Transparency is conceptualized as an informational mechanism necessary for performing the virtues of truthfulness, justice, and prudence. This article extends the organizational transparency and corporate social responsibility literatures by providing an alternative moral justification grounded in virtue-based theory, which extends our understanding of (...) the information disclosure decisions made by management. (shrink)

This paper seeks to analyze the construction of ethics in sexuality research in which qualitative methods are employed in the field of social sciences. Analyses are based on a bibliographic review of current discussions on research methods of queer theory and on the authors' own experiences of past research on sexuality. The article offers a theoretical perspective on the ways ethnography and in‐depth interviews become methods that can rely on a consensual method and create a politics of intimacy between the (...) researchers and research participants. The politics of intimacy may contribute to the production of a politically engaged knowledge while escaping from the moral matrix that usually governs the relationship between researchers and research participants. It is argued here that the researcher's sexed and gendered body matters for fieldwork; that the consensual method among participants may be employed in sexuality research as a fruitful tool; and that the relationships created among researchers and participants can pose a challenge to predetermined ethical guidelines in research. As a result, discussions problematize the existence of a politics of intimacy in sexuality research that is characterized by ethical relations among research participants. (shrink)

The article Disagreement lost, written by Martín Abreu Zavaleta, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal on 16 September 2020 without open access. The copyright of the article changed on 18 September 2020 to © The Author 2020 and the article is forthwith distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution.

The article deals with „The Symbolic Force of Human Rights“. Firstly, it restricts the meaning of the term „symbolic“ and of the expression „symbolic force“. Secondly, it discusses two matters: (1) a semantic matter, concerning the meaning of human rights; and (2) a pragmatic matter, related to utterance of human rights’ holders. The article emphasizes that it is not about „eternal“ rights, but rather a legal-political construction and conquest of modernity. Based on such assumptions, the author goes to the core (...) of his argument, characterizing the symbolic force of human rights as ambivalent: on one hand, it serves for the generalized affirmation and accomplishment of rights related to legal inclusion in conditions of structural dissension; on the other hand, it acts as a manner of political manipulation, whether to conceal circumstances involving lack of rights or, more abruptly, to give cause to political oppression. In this regard, the article focuses, firstly, on the symbolic force of human rights at the level of National States, and then within the international and worldwide context. Finally, the author states a brief critique concerning the rhetorical use of human rights by the nowadays’ unique superpower, the United States of America. (shrink)